HAMPSHIRE police authority has narrowly escaped being forced to reset its budget after agreeing a council tax rise above the recommended five per cent.
The Government announced it will cap seven others who sought big increases in funding, including Portsmouth City Council, which will be told to send out lower council tax bills.
Hampshire police authority chiefs admitted they risked a showdown with the Government when agreeing inflation-busting council tax increase of 8.1 per cent increase.
But they crucially kept the budget rise to 4.3 per cent.
At the time authority vice-chairman councillor Adrian Collett said: "I don't think they will cap us for several reasons. They know that people want their policing levels maintained and it would be a very unpopular thing to do."
The Department for Communi-ties and Local Government said it was taking action against authorities who incurred both their budget and council tax above five per cent.
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